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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (July 1, 1883)
164 July, .883, THE WEST SHORE. nuolly come to admire its grandeur and power. The falls are lut a short distance above the famous Salmon falls, where the Indians spear salmon, which come up the stream in countless numbers ami beat themselves to death against the rocks in their frantic efforts to leap over the foam ing cataract. Fourteen miles distant is the town of Shoshone, on the Oregon Short Line, the point of junction ol the Wood river branch of that road. In less than a year this road will 1 completed to a junction with the 0. K. & N. Co., at the mouth ol Burnt river and a new overland route opened up. Then, if not before, tourists will do homage at the shrine of Shoshone falls. But these arc not the only attractions offered by upper Snake river, the great I,ewis' fork of the mighty Columbia. Only a few miles above, a nameless river bursts suddenly from the ground, and after running a short distance, plunges with terrific force over the canyon's side into the great river 150 feet In-low. Where it comes from and how for it hat traveled in its subterranean wan derings, no one can tell, but it is supposed to be Lost river, a stream that sinks from view in a desert seventy miles to the north. The American falls aie worthy ol unbounded admiration. They are situated at the point where the Utah & North ern K. K. spans Snake river with a splendid iron bridge, and in its plunge of fifty feet over dark manses of lava rock, the water beats itself into foam and rises in whirling spray, in which the tin's rays make numhertas transitory rainbows of entrancing lieauty. The grand scenery of Snake river and its many lovely valleys on either side is just Incoming known to the outside world, and the thousands of travelers who will in the next few years pass over the Oregon Short Line, will have the pleasure of witnessing and describing scenes as yet unfamiliar to the world at large. NORTHERN PACIFIC LAND SALES. The Northern Pacific land sales during the month of June were as follows : Eastern division number of acres, 62,062 ; amount realized, $262,688. Montana division numlier ot acres, 11,644; amount realized, $54,444. Western division-number of acics, 23,945 ; amount realired, $U5'7oo. Total acres, 97,651 j total amount realiied, $444,832. Du.ing the month of June, 1S83, the tlM numbe, of acC6 sold was 71,760, and the total amount real.ed was $131,)!. The total sales for the fiscal year ending June 30, 18X3, were 761,261 acresj amount realised, $3,032,048. In addition, there were realised from town lots during the year, $330,771, making the grand total for the Xr, 3, 3X3,019, against a gtand total of 1,709,338 for the fiscal yea. ending Je 30, lS8ji Th( numlwr uf ,crr, tl), in SSj WJ 46j joS verace price per acre last year wa, $3.60 ; this yr, $4. All this was land of no practical value un, the mad opened up the country, made it ac cesuhle to settler, and furnished a mean, of lak in -l. pnKluc. to maiket. The simple building of the road ha. added million, to the value of re.l estate and therefore to the actual wea'th of l country. The number of purctnse. testify more.hanwo.d. ,0 , he opinion ,he people JA ol thedeMraliilit.of smri,mik. . . ... . h " Hums ana 01 Mral term, and onerous treatment of the Following is the business of the Roseburg land 1 fhee for June, 1883 : 5,493 acres sold for cash ; 27 homestead entries, embracing 3,744 acres ; 27 pre-emption filings; 12 final homestead entries, embracing 1,568 acres ; 210 acres of mineral land sold. Along Chenoweth creek, in Wasco county, is a section of country very good for agricultural pur poses. There is a great deal of good land yet unoccupied and upen to settlement. Upon the cultivated portion the crop is good this 'season despite the dry weather. On'the sixteenth of July the Klamath Irrigating and Development Co. filed articles of incorpora tion in the ofhee of the secretary of state. The capital stock is $60,003, and the headquarters are at Linkville. The company will construct a large canal with distributing ditches for irrigating purposes, and by this means a vast tract of saee brush land will be brought under cultivation. A very important order has been received at the Roseburg land office from Washington. It commands the withdrawal from private entry of all odd numbered sections within the thirty mile limit, on each side of the O. & C. R. R., from the southern terminus of the lands heretofore withdrawn to the state line. No entries, home steads, pre-emptions, or other filing will be al lowed on any of the lands thereby withdrawn, unless it be to a settler who has occupied the lands since and before the date of the act granting the lands to said company, some seventeen years ago. All parties who have claims of record prior to that date can make their proofs and secure their lands at the rate of $1.25 per acre. Here after all lands belonging to the government within the limits of the grant will be placei upon the basis of $2.50 per acre, and are only obtain able as homesteads or pre-emptions. Twenty miles from Tillamook bay, in the center of Tillamook county, is the post office of Hebo, on the Nestucca. The river has about ten miles of tide water, with splendid soil on both sides of the stream for twenty miles up from the bay. The bottom land is narrow, not more than three-quarters of a mile wide on an average, but the foothills are low, with numerous small streams running down from the main mountains, on which there is considerable good land, as good as there is in the state vacant. The country has no mills, although there is quite a demand for lumber, which has to be shipped from Ya quia by steamer. The timber is mostly dead from fires, but there is some yellow fir which is reen near the river-enough to run a large mill foryears-and good water power near at hand, 'mmediately at the head of tide water. There is "mall bay with nine feet of water at low tide Hie country is receiving many settlers, but there is vet murh vm.i l..j .l . . .... .-. ., wncre industrious men can (make for good homes. As a d.irv region it is especially good. Summit . ' --..Miuui upiand tract about thirty miles east of Prineville. Streams of cold mountain water swarm with delicious trout and deer, antelope and game birds abound' making it highly attractive to the sportsman and pleasure seeker. The soil is very fertie Md timber is plentiful. Several settlements have recently been made, and it will no doubt all be occupied ere long. Of Crook county generally the Assays: "As the principal industry here is the growth of stock, and u stockmen generally pay no attention to the cultivation of the soil, those engaged in farming find a ready market at home for til they can produce, and at prices that rule as high or higher than that of any other locality oa the northwest coast. Only a small per cent, ii engaged in agriculture, hence the demand for bread and vegetables is equal to the supply of these cereals. And while the great grass region, the nucleus of attraction at present, holds good, tilling the soil will be a secondary consideration, thereby insuring the few farmers a ready sale and good prices for their produce. Wheat and other grains sell for less than one dollar per bushel, and some times more, as is the case this year. Vegetables, too, are eagerly bought here, and nlways bring good prices in cash. This portion of Oregon may not be the cream of the state, but we believe it is a desirable locality in which to live, and that the profits of labor are greater than in most other parts." Lying between the Des Chutes and John Day rivers, in Wasco county, is an extensive bunch grass region, known as John Day prairie. Until three years ago it was used as a stock range by cattle men, who did not think it necessary or profitable to secure title to it, and for years thou sands of cattle fattened on the nutritious bunch grass that grew luxuriantly to the height of twenty inches when not eaten off. In 18801 few settlers attempted to cultivate small fields and were surprised to find the soil highly pro ductive. The result was that many settlement! have been made during the three years past, some 500 families being now located on the prairie. Wheat, barley, oats, corn, potatoes and vege tables produce abundantly, and it is expected that 200 car loads of wheat will be shipped this season. Fruit trees, also, on an old location used for a stage station, are producing abundantly, and testify to the capabilities of the prairie for the culture of fruit on a larger scale. Unim proved land in special localities has sold as high as eight dollars per acre, and school houses, churches and stores are springing up where small towns will, beyond doubt, soon appear. The area of the prairie is equal to that of the state of New Jetsey, and there is abundunt room for thousands. Grant's station, or Villard, is the shipping point, being midway between the John Day and Des Chutes and on the bank of the Columbia. Immigrants have thronged past this fertile prairie, and traveled many miles to settl upon land far less desirable and in a region who climate is less agreeable and whose surroundings are far from being as attractive. Camas prairie is a nearly circular basin .boat twelve miles in diameter, and is entirely rounded by the Blue mountains, with their ever vernal crowns of pine and firs, which cover the rugged sides from base to peak. The view fr some eminence is indescribably beautiful. Ta
